Automated Reporting of Patient Outcomes in Hand Surgery: A Pilot Study

Background: Obtaining patient-reported outcomes (PROs) is becoming a standard component of patient care. For nonacademic practices, this can be challenging. From this perspective, we designed a nearly autonomous patient outcomes reporting system. We then conducted a prospective, cohort pilot study to assess the efficacy of the system. Methods: We created an automated system to gather PROs. All operative patients for 4 surgeons in an upper-extremity private practice were asked to participate. These patients completed the Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (QuickDASH) questionnaires preoperatively and received follow-up e-mails requesting patients to complete additional QuickDASH questionnaires at 3, 6, and 12 weeks postoperatively and to complete a 13-week postoperative satisfaction survey. Response rates and satisfaction levels are reported with descriptive statistics. Results: Sixty-two percent of participants completed the 3-week assessment, 55% completed the 6-week assessment, and 43% completed the 12-week assessment. Overall, 35% of patients completed all questionnaires, and 73% completed at least 1 postoperative assessment. The collection of follow-up questionnaires required no additional time from the clinical staff, surgeon, or a research associate. Conclusions: Automated e-mail assessments can collect reliable clinical data, with minimal surgeon or staff intervention required to administer and collect data, minimizing the financial cost. For nonacademic practices, without access to additional research resources, such a system is feasible. Further improvements in communication with patients could increase response rates.